Types of Processes in Dynamics CRM 2013

Processes are a group of features that you can use to define and enforce consistent processes for your organization. These consistent processes help make sure people using the system can focus on their work and not on remembering to perform a set of manual steps. Processes can be simple or complex and can change over time. Microsoft Dynamics CRM provides several options to define your processes. You need to understand how you can use each type to get the results you need.

Processes are designed to be used by people who aren’t developers. The rules that are defined in processes contain similar logic that a developer may apply using code, but you don’t need to call in a developer each time you want to change the rules. However, you do need to have a clear understanding of the logic in the rules and understand the capabilities of each type of process. You still need to apply processes carefully and test the results to make sure you get what you want.

The following table provides an overview of when to use each category of process in Dynamics CRM 2013.

Process Category	Description
Workflow	Use workflows to automate business processes behind the scenes. Workflows are typically initiated by system events so the user doesn’t need to be aware that they are running, but they can also be configured for people to manually initiate them.Workflows can operate in the background (asynchronously) or in real-time (synchronously). These are referred to separately as background workflows or real-time workflows.
Dialogs	Use dialogs to create a user interface that will guide people through a script for customer interaction or a wizard to perform complex actions consistently.
Actions (Plugins)	Use actions to expand the vocabulary available for developers to express business processes. With core verbs like Create, Update, Delete, and Assign provided by the system, a Action uses those core verbs to create more expressive verbs like Approve, Escalate, Route, or Schedule. If the definition of a business process changes, someone who isn’t a developer can edit the Action so the code doesn’t need to be changed.
Business Process Flows	Use business process flows to define the steps in which people should enter data to achieve an outcome. Business process flows add a control to the top of a form that show people what data they need to enter to move forward to the next stage and ultimately to completion of a business process. A business process flow can span multiple entities.

Note: Business process flows are different from other types of processes. All processes use the same underlying technology and information about them is stored in the Process entity. Business process flows have a different configuration experience and behavior compared to other types of processes.

How to create a new Process:

1. Click on Dynamics CRM-> Settings tile
2. Click on Settings-> Processes tile
3. Click on ‘New’ button to create a process and select the category, check out in the below screenshot.